I wish I could tell you a warm and fuzzy story about how mujadara has always been a special dish in the family. Truth be told, mujadara was far from my favorite growing up. Lentils don’t hold a lot of kid-appeal, which is why I’m always astonished when my friend Rebecca tells me her children eat a lot of lentils and love them. For me and my siblings, lentils were to be avoided; we walked far away from the table when lentils were on it, like my little nephew does whenever he sees a dog nearby. You wonder where he’s going and then realize he’s circling the park, walking far out of his way to avoid that dog. It might bite.
I try to remind myself of my childhood aversion to mujadara whenever my nephew looks in terror at something I’ve placed before him on his plate. Usually I beg him to at least taste it, or I ask him if he’s read Green Eggs and Ham? And he usually has a response like “eggs are NOT green.” It’s not like I’ve tried to feed him mujadara; we’re just talking about mashed potatoes, or green bits of anything in anything, or any scoop of one food touching another—and he goes kind of crazy, as though a huge, fierce dog is going to sink his teeth in and never let go.
During my graduate school years, I was enamored with my first apartment and most of all with having a kitchen to call my own. I got into some heavy thinking about all kinds of things, and for a short time, swore off of meat (religion too). Mom was concerned, mostly about my ability to maintain good nutrition, especially knowing my propensity at that point to skip meals in favor of candy or nothing at all. But her response was one that I’ve never forgotten. Instead of asking me in disbelief how I would survive without kibbeh, or her all time favorite, a hamburg, she gave me a vegetarian cookbook. This was the first cookbook to don my bookshelf; it was beautiful, and I was mesmerized. It was from this book that I first made the divine smoothness of pureed leek and potato soup, and I’ve been making it ever since.
She also gave me the recipe for mujadara, and told me about why it’s so good for you. The combination of lentils with rice or cracked wheat forms a perfect protein, along with the fiber and other nutrients much needed in a diet that doesn’t include meat. Her approach to my swearing off of meat (we won’t go into what my parents thought about me dumping on my religion, which was also short-lived) charmed me into walking right up to the big bad doggie of lentils and putting the back of my hand in its face.
My first tries at mujadara were just ok, producing a mush that still tasted fine but giving off an aroma from the deeply caramelized (or in my case, burnt) onions that was so strong it permeated the woodwork. I think I can still smell those early batches in my hair today. I’ve since discovered that in some areas of Lebanon, mujadara is in fact pureed, so my mush could probably have passed for something other than a mistake. And Aunt Rita casually mentioned recently that she caramelizes her onions in vegetable oil because with the olive oil, the onions burn easily and the whole house smells of it for days. A revelation.
One of the great things about mujadara is that you can make it on a whim with ingredients you likely already have in the pantry. This is peasant food, food that developed out of need. But in the hands of the Lebanese women who throughout history have known instinctively how to make all food taste good, the ingredients were transformed into a beloved dish that, approached with a little gentleness and charm, could coax even the most stubborn (albeit adult) palate into submission.
Mujadara
Cracked wheat can be used in place of the rice, and happens to be my favorite way to eat mujadara. There is some question as to how far the onions should be taken in the caramelization process. They must be dark, very dark golden brown. Some of the onions will verge on burnt. But entirely burnt onions will produce a bitter mujadara and the onions won’t ‘melt’ into the lentils and rice as they should when they are soft. Mujadara is delicious eaten with labne, flatbread, a green salad, and if you want to get fancy, some crispy fried onions strings on top.
1 cup whole brown or green large lentils, sorted and rinsed
¼ cup canola oil
4 cups diced yellow onion (½-inch)
1 cup long grain rice OR coarse cracked wheat (#3 grade)
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
For fried onion garnish (optional):
1 large onion cut in very thin rings
canola oil for frying
Place lentils in a small saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are par-cooked, 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat. Be careful not to overcook here; the idea is to par-cook the lentils.
In a large, heavy sauté or sauce pan (with a lid), heat the canola oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook until deep golden brown, about 20 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt as the onions cook.
Take the onions off the heat and add 2 cups of water. Place back on the heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for five minutes. The liquid will take on the deep golden color of the onions and the onions will continue to soften.
Add the rice and par-cooked lentils (and their liquid) to the onion mixture. Cover and bring to a boil. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice and lentils are cooked through. The texture of the rice and lentils is somewhat al dente. Take care not to overcook or the mixture will become mushy. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature drizzled with olive oil.
For fried onion garnish, heat canola oil over high heat in a small saucepan (the small saucepan reduces the amount of oil needed for depth). When a small piece of onion dropped into the oil floats to the top and bubbles vigorously, the oil is ready. Fry the onion rings in batches until golden brown, reducing heat as needed to prevent burning. Remove and drain on paper towel. Place the onions on top of the mujadara on a serving platter or individual plates.
Print this recipe here.
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Maureen ,
It seems the Lentil post , inspired you eh ?
Hugs
Absolutely!
I will definitely go with canola oil next time–it is true that olive oil has a lower boiling point but I was so unconsciously wedded to it I never thought to change.
Funny how that works; I hadn’t thought of changing either, even though canola has been such a revelation in the last year. Can always get the flavor with a drizzle of olive oil when it’s all done.
Yes, I’m going to do the drizzle. Also, I’d never deglazed the pan after frying the onions before, and I like how that is coming out.
Oh good–I think it’s the key to getting a dark brown mujadara (more appetizing) and to getting everything well-flavored with the onion!
Lentils were never a favorite of mine. Could this be done with small dried beans such as great northerns or black eyed peas?
Ohhh, that’s clever Roger. I bet so. The key would be to watch the cook time so the beans don’t go to mush. Let me know….
Love the story. I, too, discovered lentils while exploring vegetarianism as a college student. They are one of the few choices I made in that era that have stood the test of time. As of Jan 1 I have once again “gone veg”, in sympathy with my dabbling daughter. But only for 2 months. And there is a weekly venison clause…
Lentils tonight!
I commend your solidarity with your daughter, Greg! These lentils will be just the ticket. I just brought home a loaf of Epi from your Crooked Tree Breadworks this afternoon…I could eat the whole thing in one sitting on its own or with nutella or my apricot jam or butter…..it’s amazing.
We always had mujadara on Fridays, no meat and when coming home from school as a child you could smell the onions from a block away. Mmmm Mmmm Good Stuff
I bet those onions brought you in like the Pied Piper! Great memory. My mother talks about how they always had mujadara on Fridays too.
When I was traveling in Ecuador last year, I had a great dish of lentils and rice. I wrote it down to remind myself to make it. I never did, but this recipe reminds me of it – I want to make your recipe over the weekend. PERFECT for a cold winter day! I love your photographs!
Hi there! Thank you for reading and commenting. Interesting that a similar dish was made in Ecuador, and great that you will make this one soon. It will be delicious! All the best–
Tried it with great northern beans and brown rice. Always like the microwave when I can. Soaked beans a few hours then added water and microwaved for an hour. (Didn’t measure as I should) Fried the onions then added them and rice to the half cooked beans. Also added beef powder and a little liquid smoke. I know that takes from the vegetarian but added flavor. More water and back in the microwave for an hour. Came out as a good side dish. I do think that a little sweet potato or butternut squash or carrots
would add more color and flavor. I would think that adding ketchup or tomato juice would help and might give it a little more Lebanese flavor as tomatoes tend to go into everything.
This is fantastic Roger. You are a great cook, experimenting like that!!
Yes! I too was not a fan growing up but now I crave Mujadara.Great blog, traditional recipes and photos too. Thank you for beautiful pictures and perfect recipes to share with my friends.
Thanks so much for that Karen! Great to see you here!
We recently had this dish at a restaurant in Myrtle beach. It was the first time I had had mujadara and I loved it. The owner of the restaurant told me how to make it. She is Lebanese and uses lentils, rice and onions but only uses allspice . Most recipes also use cumin. Have you ever made it with this spice?
Hi Sally–how great that you talked with the restaurant owner about how to make mujadara. We don’t use cumin much at all in our Lebanese cooking, but many regions do. And for mujadara, we don’t add the cinnamon or allspice–but for many, many recipes, we do! It’s just a matter of various traditions and tastes. Please let me know if you make some…thanks for writing!
Loved mujadera even as a kid–must have been the lingering smell of the ‘burnt’ onions, in olive oil–Maureen, I was laughing hard, outloud, the whole time I read your utterly charming column. Every one of your columns evokes such tender memories for me of my beloved Mother–I always helped her spread out the lentils on the table and hand sort each lentil off the edge of the table and into the pot, so that every dreaded little rock could be culled out of the lot–yes I am older than dirt (68) so I remember this essential process.
Thank you for the memories!
As a Lebanese girl who grew up eating my Sitto’s mjedera, I have to suggest that you use cinnamon and seven spice when sautéing the onion (or a cinnamon stick in place of powdered cinnamon). I can’t imagine mjedera without those favors – they are needed if you want the true, traditional version of the dish. Your recipe otherwise is fantastic. Also, yoghurt on top of the mjedera is a fantastic garnish. Sahtein!
I was thinking the same thing. Being Armenian, I don’t see any depth of flavor in this recipe. I would think some cumin would be a great addition as well.
Hello
I discovered this dish by accident at a Middle Eastern deli a few weeks ago; I intended to buy something completely different, but the clerk gave me a spoonful of this to try, and my lunch plans changed immediately. I googled the recipe as I was eating my purchased mujadara, because it was so good that I had to know what was in it. I found your recipe to be the most inviting (it’s your blog, it looks so lovely) and tried it out the next day. It was perfect, and very favorably received by everyone I foisted it upon (four people… so far). This recipe, to my mind, is perfect: the ingredients are simple and dirt cheap, the proportions are committed to memory immediately, and the result is so good it almost feels like cheating: it shouldn’t be this easy and inexpensive to make something this tasty! So I just wanted to come back here and thank you; I’ll be making mountains of this stuff for years to come
What a wonderful comment! How great to hear about your experience trying mujadara for the first time, and then enjoying making it yourself!! Please keep me posted on your cooking adventures…..
About 25 years ago I once worked in a Lebanese restaurant that made the *best* mujadera I have ever tasted. The restaurant has since closed (really a shame) and I often wished I could find the former owners to beg for the mujadera recipe. By far – it was one of the most popular dishes far and wide. They used cracked wheat (bulgar) instead of rice and your recipe seems to be the closest to how I remember them making it – in huge batches no less. I’m excited to make this today – with a side of homemade yogurt or leban and a crispy fattoush. Thank you for the recipe — life is good! <3
Hi! I have been looking for a recipe for Mujadera for forever!!! I love it, and bought a middle east cookbook because it had a recipe for Mujadrera, but it did not taste anything like I had tasted before. My 84 year old Mom dated a Lebanese gentleman and I had hope of finding a recipe through him, but he had no idea how to cook. I am going to try this tomorrow! I can’t wait!
My great-grandparents were Lebanese, and though unfortunately not a lot of recipes have made it through the generations, I have happy memories of what I only knew of as ‘judra’. I’m very pleased to learn that it is indeed a real Lebanese dish!
My nanna also used to make a vermicilli-and-rice dish that we called sherria, and small mince balls that we called coobie. Do they sound like they might have some resemblance to Lebanese recipes?
Coobie sounds like kibbee. Which is ground beef mixed with chopped green onion and fresh minced parsley seasoned with a little salt and pepper then molded into short hot dog shapes then either grilled or broiled. The rice is simply noodles browned in oil and then cooked with the rice (sort of like Rice-A-Roni). Good luck!
Hi! I tried Mujadara for the first time at a lebanese restaurant that I frequent often. I fell in love with it and immediately began looking for a recipe for it. I found yours and I can say that yours tastes delicious! I folowed your recipe exactly, exept I added a pinch of cumin and allspice and I used a red onion. I put in on a thick homestyle tortilla with some tomatoe and I was in heaven! lol
Making this for my Lebanese husband. Hope it turns out OK…..have tried loads of things but they’re always a flop. My husband has told me to give up, but want to master this ” Lebanese Cooking ” thing.
Maureen,
How can I carmelize onions without using the oil? I am cooking for a person who follows the whole food based diet and is gluten-free? Thanks
Hi Jackie–thanks for a great question. You can caramelize the onions in a slow-cooker (10-12 hours) with some broth (chicken or vegetable), then transfer to a saute pan, add par-cooked lentils and water, and go from there. I haven’t tried this, so I’d love to know how it comes out for you!
Hi! I am half Lebanese and this was one of my favorite dishes growing up. I have always tried to duplicate my grandmother’s cooking but nothing ever tastes quite like hers! Most traditional Lebanese food takes a lot of time and preparation and I’m fairly lazy! I just finished using your recipe, which was very easy to follow. The end result tastes really good but, like you mentioned about your first attempts, mine was kind of mushy and some of the rice was a little hard still. Have you found a way to avoid this? I had to add more water after the first two cups because there wasn’t enough to cook the rice and it was sticking to the bottom of the pan. Either way, it still tastes yummy! The tip about using the regular oil for frying the onions was a lifesaver. I always think I have to use olive oil for Lebanese food but my onions never turned out right. This time, they were perfect! Thanks!
Angela
I grew up in Maine and of course had never heard of Mujadara. I then went to law school in Lansing, Michigan and I was introduced to it by a friend. There as a great Lebanese deli type of place and I fell in love with Mujadara, Falafel, and other great dishes. The Mujadara was my favorite though. I now live in Florida and I have not been able to find any place that makes Mujadara. I can’t wait to try this recipe.
Wonderful recipe! I was just wondering though, when adding the lentils to the onion and water mixture, should I add the water the lentils were cooked in too? Or should I drain the lentils first and add them without the water?
Thank you Jumana–good question. Yes, add the lentil water too!
how many servings are for this dish (mujadara)? following your recipe?
Hi Mona–this makes about 8 servings.